Page 281 - 2025中醫藥與天然藥物聯合學術研討會-中醫藥與天然藥物的挑戰Ｘ機遇與未來大會手冊

CM-14

Advancing safe and bioactive phytomedicine development-Dictamni Cortex

1
3,4
1
Chia-Lin Lee,* ,1,2,3 Chien-Ming Wang, Si-Min Lu, Ying-Chyi Song, Hsiu-Mei Chiang,
3
Hsiao-Fang Liao, Hung-Rong Yen 3,6,7,8
5

1 Department of Cosmeceutics, China Medical University, Taichung 40604, Taiwan
2 Chinese Medicine Research and Development Center, China Medical University Hospital,
Taichung 40447, Taiwan
3 Chinese Medicine Research Center, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan
4 Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402,
Taiwan
5 Ph.D. Program for Biotechnology Industry, China Medical University, Taichung 40604,
Taiwan
6 Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital,
Taichung 40447, Taiwan
7 Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40447,
Taiwan
8 School of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University,
Taichung 40402, Taiwan
* E-mail: chlilee@mail.cmu.edu.tw

Abstract
The root bark of Dictamnus dasycarpus, known as Dictamni Cortex, has been used for
centuries in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) across Asia to treat inflammatory skin
disorders, particularly atopic dermatitis. Dictamnine, the principal furoquinoline alkaloid
identified in this TCM, exhibits anti-inflammatory effects; however, its structural similarity to
photoactive linear furanocoumarins (e.g., 8-methoxypsoralen, 5-methoxypsoralen) confers
inherent phototoxic risk. In this study, we developed a dictamnine-free extract (DDE-EA-I)
from Dictamni Cortex, which preserved potent immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory
activities while showing no detectable phototoxicity. Conversely, a dictamnine analogue-rich
extract (DDE-EA-II) exhibited marked phototoxicity, even greater than that of pure dictamnine.
This work demonstrates the feasibility of producing both detoxified, bioactive formulation
(DDE-EA-I) and photosensitizing, dictamnine-enriched preparation (DDE-EA-II) from
Dictamni Cortex. Notably, DDE-EA-I represents a promising candiate for safe and effective
dermatitis therapy, with further in vivo validation currently underway.

Keywords: Traditional Chinese Medicine; Dictamni Cortex; Dictamnine-free formulation